Cellular and molecular profiling of graft injury post renal transplantation

Continues advancements in assessing methods for biomolecules that have assisted to identify surrogate candidate biomarkers that can be used to monitor the transplanted organ. These high-throughput methods can help researchers to significantly speed up the identification and the validation steps, which are crucial factors for biomarker discovery efforts. However, this task in transplantation confronts multiple limitations. The review summarizes main findings using 'omics approaches in the evaluation of different types of allograft injury with the overarching aim of evaluating the next steps for transferring the available data to the clinical setting.

Significant discoveries have been made about the molecular and cellular mechanisms that associate with graft injury that may lead to early biomarkers of graft injury (prediction and diagnosis) with the goal of improving long-term outcomes by extending the lifespan of the graft and/or identifying new therapeutic targets.

Common efforts among researchers are needed for transferring biomarkers to the clinical setting and, moreover, elucidate pathways that may allow for early interventions to avoid fibrosis progression and graft loss. Large and prospective studies for validation of current available data under strict analytical evaluation are needed to move biomarkers from the discovery phase to validation and clinical implementation.